1. Doing Business in India
Prepared for

2. 1 Teachers 2 Reflection
4 Life Experience 3 Companions

3. 18 YEARS
76 NATIONS
1000’s OF
PEOPLE

5. Getting to know…me
1 My name is: Shanti
No last name! Mrs. Shanti (does not matter if
you are Ms. or Mrs. they will gauge you by your
age and address you)
2 My husband is… / I have two children...
Indians will share and expect a lot of personal information.
This is small talk in India

6. Getting to know…me
3 I live as part of an extended family
60% of India still lives in the joint family
system*
4 I speak five languages
An average Indian will speak between three to five languages
India has 22 official languages and almost 2000 languages and
dialects
Indian Census Bureau, 2011

7. Today’s Agenda
• Core Values in the Workplace
• Indian Business Etiquette
• Indian View of NZ
• The Art of Indian Negotiation
• Communicating in India
• Q&A

8. Indian Values

9. Behaviours
Heroes
Symbols
Customs/Rituals

10. Beliefs Assumptions
Values
Worldview

11. Indian Values:

12. Group
Team and Relationships

13. Obligation

14. Applications
• Share the bigger picture
• Identify key individual relationships and try
to get inside their circles!
How?
• Attend personal functions
• Have meals together
• Ask for advice
• Let them help you!

15. Indian Values:
Respect for Hierarchy
Leadership

16. Be aware of Hierarchy
Chief Secretary
Secretary
Joint Secretary
Deputy Secretary
Under Secretary
Desk Officer

17. Applications
• Titles are important, use them
• Give importance to age, status & wealth
• Respect hierarchy on its way up, down & match it
• Don’t disagree with seniors in front of juniors

18. Fate
Indian Values:
Time

19. Applications
• Expect little planning
• And then expect a lot of energy to
meet the deadline
• Agendas & schedules may be set but
not followed
• Respect a line of thinking that may
seem to defy logic

20. Indian Values:

21. Indian Business Etiquette

22. Introductions
• How big/powerful is
your circle?
• Business Cards
• What to share:
• Size of company
• Important contacts in
India
• Large/well-known
clients
• Follow up

23. Dress
• North vs. South
• Don’t mimic traditional Indian styles
• Don’t be too informal
• Prepare for the heat, and the AC
• Have at least one nice accessory

24. Small Talk
Cricket
• IPL
Celebrities
• Business, Cinema, Sports

25. A.) Sachin Tendulkar
Which of these is not a B.) Mahindra Singh Dhoni
famous Indian
C.) Sushmita Sen
cricketer?
D.) Virat Kohli

26. Sushmita Sen

27. Match the following movie stars with their pictures:

28. Which of the following
A.) Narayana Murthy
is not the founder of an
Indian conglomerate B.) Jamsetji Tata
with revenues over C.) Dhirubhai Ambani
$40 Billion? D.) GD Birla

29. Ambanis Birlas
$67 billion $41 billion
Tatas
$100 billion $7 billion

30. Small Talk
Travel
Family

31. Gifts
• Unique from your country
• Chocolate or Sweets
• Alcohol
• Piece of Art
• Photo frames

32. Body Language
• No winking
• Eye contact
• Reduced Personal Space
• No finger pointing
• Don’t show the soles of your feet to
elders
• Speak slowly and clearly

33. Dining Etiquette
• Enjoy yourself and ask for
seconds!
• Always reciprocate an
invitation to an equal level
of restaurant
• Offer more food and
alcohol several times
• You must fight for the bill!

34. Indian Views of
New Zealand

35. Negotiation in India
1 Strengthen your BATNA
2 Stay friendly – no “hard ball”
3 Be willing to be creative
Agreements are adhered to but
4 buffers are expected

36. Negotiation in India
5 Bundle the Buying
6 Crucial Silences Help
Use a mediator for language
7 and red tape

37. • Expect a large give-in
• Give it time
• Find the decision makers
• Match status, move for move

38. Rajan: So what’s the price on this service?
Thomas: In total it will be 6 crore.
Rajan: But that is your list price. Isn’t there a discount for us?
Thomas: For you? We give the best price to all our clients.
Rajan: I know but we are looking at a long term relationship. Surely there is
a special price you can give?
Thomas: Well, we might be able to a 5% discount to start on the first order.
Rajan: What if we took a premium order? Would you then cover the
shipping cost for us?
Thomas: Yes, shipping comes free with premium orders.
Rajan: Great, so it will be 5% off and free shipping and I’ll get back to you on
the premium order.

39. Communication: Indian Style

40. Indirect Direct Blunt/Rude
Indirect Direct Blunt/Rude

41. The Indian “disagreeing” rope trick
Repetition of the ?
Topic changing
Asking your opinion
Silence/No Response
Praising Parts

42. Patrick: Shobha, I was wondering if you could come in on Saturday?
Shobha: Saturday?
Patrick: Yes, just for a couple of hours.
Shobha: I see.
Patrick: Just to finish that application test.
Shobha: Right, right.
Patrick: I think Ram's team is coming in too, so it should be pretty
fast.
Shobha: Yes, they work quite fast.
Patrick: So, do you think it will work, Shobha?
Shobha: Let me ask my team and get back with you.
Patrick: No problem.
Source: Craig Storti's Cross Cultural Dialogues

43. Bernd: So we are all in agreement about all the prices listed
here?
Ram: Yes, everything looks great. I’m sure we will be flexible as
we move forward.
Bernd: Great. Shall we move on to some logistics strategies
then?
Ram: Yes. As we will be providing some extra ground staff, we
will need to adjust some of our figures, but only very small
changes.
Bernd: Are you sure? Is everything the same from the proposal
that you gave?
Ram: Of course, yes. As the market fluctuates, we will just need
to be flexible as to how many people we need on the ground.

44. Context/Background Answer
Answer Supporting Reasons

45. Cinnamon Roll vs. Jalebi
Dec 18 2011

46. Trainable Talent
Acceptance
Journey

47. "Welcome a
guest, send home a
friend"